Anjali Shah – Episode 35

Anjali Shah is the Co-Founder and CEO of the Premier India Football Academy (PIFA) and Founder of the Indian Women’s Football Alliance (IWFA) who are transforming the lives of millions of girls and women in India through the power of the beautiful game.

Anjali’s love for sport began in her childhood growing up as the daughter of an Air Force Fighter Pilot who often moved around a lot all across India and had a very stressful childhood when her father was captured as a prisoner of war. Engaging in sports and especially team sports like Throwball and Netball helped Anjali cope with the stress that she experienced in her younger years.

Anjali also found sports as a tool to connect with other people whenever her family had to move to new locations and this experience inspired her to pursue opportunities that would enable girls in India to benefit from sport as a social intervention tool as well as the necessary skills and confidence to stand up against gender-based violence.

In this episode of In Her Corner, we talk to Anjali about her lifelong love affair with football, how she got into working in the women’s game and how her life and career-defining lessons have led her on a mission to get 10 million girls playing football in India by 2026. 

You can listen to the trailer for Anjali’s episode using the player below:

Anjali’s full episode is available to listen to on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other major streaming platforms.

Podcast theme track by Wayne Urquhart and Mix Engineering by Nick Murphy.